electric honey

so as you all know i'm constantly trying to make myself more visible at work, and so is mark. so we made this video together for one of our books, dennis cooper's ugly man. it's pretty funny if i do say so myself, and we worked really really hard on it. and if we get a ton of hits, it would be really really good for us. most of the work videos on the imprint's youtube site get less than 1,000 hits, so the bar isn't set that high, but if we got a ton it would really blow people away. so please watch it and forward it to anyone you think might like it!

i was not laid off this morning. neither were mark, raina, or angie. lots of other people were, though, and lots in my department. there is a lot of reorganization and it's all very surreal.

it's taking a backseat, however, to the fact that my dad is in the hospital with pneumonia. apparently he went to the doctor yesterday because he was having trouble breathing, they sent him home with meds, he still couldn't breathe, so they told him to call 911. they got to the ER around midnight last night and they just now admitted him and gave him a bed at 3 pm. my mom went home to go to sleep and i'm going for the 8:00-8:30 visiting hours. no one's told my sister yet because she had a big test today, but i made my mom text her to call when her test is over.

weirdly, my first thought was to go to the mcdonald's near the hospital (where nicole and i used to go all the time) for dinner. even after having it only twice since april 30, 2007, i'm glad my brain still runs to mcdonald's in times of parent-related stress.

for a work thing, i have to write about "the class that changed my life." the problem is that, being in publishing, we're supposed to include books that played a part in that. but the classes that changed my life were writing classes and women in television, which were not book-heavy. so i was going through my livejournal from junior and senior year of college to see if i mentioned any other classes or books. i didn't really, but i wrote A LOT about boys. my life used to be so boy-centric.

i am aware that that is not news to anyone who knew me then.

juliet's grandpa called, and i handed her the phone. he must have asked her something, and she responded with: "oh, that's my erica."

ten minutes after her parents called to say good night and mentioned they were at the ballet:

juliet: where are my mommy and daddy?
me: at the ballet, remember?
her: no they're not.
me: oh, really? where are they?
her: sesame street.

i used to do those year in review surveys but i think i prefer this:

(new) good things that happened in 2008:
1. I WROTE A NOVEL. this was not only a new year's resolution but also a lifelong goal and maybe the most important thing i have accomplished for myself ever. it isn't published yet or anything, but people have read it and said they liked it and more importantly i now know i am capable of it.
2. i traveled to a new state: north carolina (to visit lara).
3. two couples i care about/think are perfect for each other (ann marie and bob and dora and norman) got married.
4. i proved that i could get a new job if i wanted to but made a conscious decision to stay in publishing.
5. went snow tubing for the first time
6. got into some new foods: blueberries, ground turkey instead of ground beef, mac and cheese, squash, maybe even a few others i can't remember
7. continued on 2+ years of working out 3x a week
8. grew closer to people like ari (the gf of one of jon's best friends) and mark (my work bff)
9. started world wide whiskers (now up to 1000ish hits a month)
10. my dad and i settled some issues that had been plaguing us for a LONG time and our relationship immediately got immensely, immensely better

bad things in 2008:
1. not working with heather anymore (this is good for heather's career though, i just missed seeing her every day and still do)
2. got rejected by three agents
3. weddings, while fun, were expensive and stressful at times
4. i grew to hate certain aspects of my job but the economy means i most likely have to stay put
5. i missed people who moved away
6. i was hard on myself in a lot of ways

so all in all, the good FAR outweighs the bad. and here are my resolutions:
1. get agent and get novel published (sort of out of my hands, but i can work towards it)
2. write new novel (started)
3. grow world wide whiskers (again, sort of out of my hands but i can work towards it)
4. be nicer to myself
5. be nicer to jon
6. go to disney world, chicago, and maybe another location TBA

I'm not sure if this is a 100% complete list, because there might be a gap between when I stopped doing monthly media updates and when I started using goodreads. Oh well.

1. game control by lionel shriver - the weakest of all her books
2. mcilhenny's gold: how a lousiana family built the tabasco empire by jeffrey rothfeder - interesting but didn't need to read an entire book on the subject
3. chain letter by christopher pike - early cp is not the best
4. chain letter 2: the ancient evil by christopher pike - ditto, but it has a formaldehyde massage that heather remembered for many years
5. last act by christopher pike - the first good cp book
6. chalked up: inside Elite Gymnastics' Merciless Coaching, Overzealous Parents, Eating Disorders, and Elusive Olympic Dreams by jennifer sey - interesting if you like gymnastics but needed more dirt
7. spellbound by christopher pike - rereading it made me realize CP books can be kinda racist.
8. the ruins by scott smith - LOVE. a favorite.
9. final friends 1: the party by christopher pike
10. final friends 2: the dance by christopher pike
11. final friends 3: the graduation by christopher pike - all three of these sucked and kept me from reading any more CP books this year
12. starter for ten by david nicholls - not as good as the movie, which is a favorite, but good.
13. have you found her: a memoir by janice erlbaum - gripping and believable
14. enemy women by paulette jiles - i really liked her depression-era historical fiction but should have known that civil war era stuff was not for me.
15. we disappear by scott heim - not as good as mysterious skin but still pretty good.
16. futureproof by n. frank daniels - notable because the main character is a drug addict but i still sympathized with him.
17. not remotely controlled: notes on television by lee siegel - a little too academic but good.
18. (Not That You Asked): Rants, Exploits, and Obsessions by steve almond - i love his essays.
19. the ruins of california by martha sherrill - decent coming of age but not a favorite.
20. the story of edgar sawtelle by david wroblewski - too long but good.
21. i was told there'd be cake by sloane crosley - everything i hate about essays and boring people who think they're quirky.
22. All for a Few Perfect Waves: The Audacious Life and Legend of Rebel Surfer Miki Dora by david rensin - miki dora was maybe a nazi and kind of a jerk, so while it was decently written i didn't enjoy it.
23. promise not to tell by jennifer mcmahon - a thriller in disguise that i read in a day.
24. brooklyn was mine by valerie steiker - essay collection with some writers i already knew i liked, decent but not earth-shattering.
25. Season Finale: The Unexpected Rise and Fall of the WB and UPN by susanne daniels - interesting to someone obsessed with tv
26. the plague of doves by louise erdrich - not bad but not her best
27. world war z: an oral history of the zombie war by max brooks - i didn't think i'd like this but it was funny.
28. one good turn by kate atkinson - literary thriller, which is totally my second favorite genre. loved it.
29. the summer of naked swim parties by jessica anya blau - decent 70s coming of age novel
30. The Dead Beat: Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs, and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by marilyn johnson - kind of like Stiff but better.
31. In the Woods by Tana French - the ultimate literary thriller, maybe my favorite books this year, god i love this book SO MUCH
32. But Enough About Me: How a Small-Town Girl Went from Shag Carpet to the Red Carpet by Jancee Dunn - a good beach read (i really did read it at the beach one day)
33. Helping Me Help Myself: One Skeptic, Twelve Self-Help Programs, One Whirlwind Year of Improvement by beth lisick - normally i hate books where someone does something just for the sake of writing about it but beth lisick is awesome
34. freakonomics by steven levitt and stephen dubner - okay but not as good as i thought it would be
35. Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Triumphing over Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall - interesting if you are at all interested in polygamous sects and decently written
36. Rats: Observations on the History and Habitat of the City's Most Unwanted Inhabitants by robert sullivan - less interesting than i thought it would be
37. The Book of Lists: Horror by amy wallace - loved it. good if you like horror at all.
38. under the banner of heaven by jon krakauer - again, good if you want to know about polygamous sects and mormonism and crazy utah shit
39. the painted drum by louise erdrich - better than plague of doves but still not the best
40. Femme Fatale: Love, Lies, and the Unknown Life of Mata Hari by pat shipman - mata hari's life was not as interesting as everyone makes it out to be
41. heartsick by chelsea cain - way less literary than other literaryish thrillers i read this year, but i still liked it a lot.
42. state by state: a panoramic portrait of america by matt weiland - good but so so long.
43. who by fire by diana spechler - ehh
44. being written by william conescu - okay, kinda thrillery at the end which i liked
45. the condition by jennifer haigh - good family saga, recommended if you liked the corrections
46. tunneling to the center of the earth: stories by kevin wilson - loved. maybe the second favorite this year.
47. walk on water: the miracle of saving children's lives by michael ruhlmann - interesting to know about heart surgery but nothing i urgently loved
47.5. is it just me or is everything shit by steve lowe - not very funny, stopped in the middle
48. water for elephants by sara gruen - not terrible, but certainly not as good as everyone makes it out to be.
49. Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx by adrian nicole leblanc - pretty compelling nonfiction but maybe could have used a little more analysis
50. strange piece of paradise by terri jentz - always sad when a book about the author's own attempted murder is still not that interesting
51. goldengrove by francine prose - really well-crafted coming of age that made me angry but i can't say why without spoiling
52. have you no shame by rachel shukert - great essays. what i was told there'd be cake wanted to be.
53. If I Am Missing or Dead: A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation by janine latus - different than i thought it would be but interesting story of two sisters who were both battered women
54. more than it hurts you by darin strauss - good, in the same vein as the condition
55. A Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America's Best High Schools by alec klein - really great if you went to my high school
55.5 the color of lightning by paulette jiles - enemy women should have told me i don't like her civil war stuff
55.6 Do Cats Hear With Their Feet?: Where Cats Come From, What We Know About Them, and What They Think About Us by jake page - boring.
56. Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by steve almond - again, love his essays
57. when will there be good news by kate atkinson - another good literary thriller

yup, reading this over, my favorite book i read this year was DEFINITELY in the woods. the most beautiful writing and the most compelling story.

here are the 50 movies i saw in 2008. ** indicate that i liked it/would see it again/ didn't feel like i wasted two hours of my life. **** means i really loved it.

one missed call
cloverfield**
teeth
untraceable (on dvd)
step up 2 the streets****
be kind rewind**
the other boleyn girl**
paranoid park****
stop loss**
the ruins**
young @ heart****
prom night**
forgetting sarah marshall**
baby mama**
harold & kumar escape from guantanamo bay**
then she found me**
iron man**
indiana jones
sex and the city****
the strangers**
savage grace (on ondemand)
the happening
wanted**
hancock**
the wackness****
the dark knight**
mamma mia (half of it on dvd)
american teen**
pineapple express**
sisterhood of the traveling pants 2****
what we do is secret
mirrors
hamlet 2****
burn after reading****
the women
choke****
nick & norah's infinite playlist****
rachel getting married****
quarantine**
pride & glory**
saw V**
the haunting of molly hartley
zack and miri make a porno****
quantum of solace**
twilight****
milk**
doubt
yes man****
the wrestler**
revolutionary road (seeing tomorrow with allison)

so, it's time for my first gyno appt after my horrible traumatizing experience at the end of june. unfortunately, the person i was planning to go to (kat's gyno) doesn't take my insurance, so here i am, seeking recommendations again. women only, please.

a total nothing day today turned into a big one. slept late (till 10, which is late for me), jon and i went out to feed oliver (joe's cat) with amorphous plans to get food and maybe see a movie, though we hadn't decided which one (between the reader, curious case of benjamin button, and revolutionary road). on the way out of joe's house, jon asked if i wanted to go to ikea to get a TV stand, and we ended up taking the bus there. it turned out to be a good idea since as we hit the first section of stuff we ran into bob and ann marie who had also just gotten there. i think being with friends helped me and jon make decisions and not endlessly go back and forth and we ended up buying a new couch and a new TV stand and a cabinet/drawer thing for jon's prints. we got same night delivery and went off to dumont with bob and ann marie where i had the best mac n cheese ever and then we came over and got our stuff.

jon heroically put the tv stand together and in exchange i went out and bought him a six-pack. we left the cabinet for tomorrow but i'm sitting on the new couch and it's amazing. our apartment looks much more grown up right now. and since it's leather, cat hair is not going to be nearly as much of a problem. and it was only $400! we also bought a seahorse lamp and ice cube trays in the shape of puzzle pieces. pretty psyched.

unfortunately, after finally fixing our on demand last night, our cable is now out. jon is making me watch taped episodes of this terrible show on spike called MANswers.

i'm feeling kinda down today and i'm not sure why. maybe last day before vacation blues or something. i don't feel like doing any of my work; i just want to be out of here. i don't even feel like answering my own emails or posting to whiskers. ugh.

because of my sister's school schedule, we will be having our joint family birthday dinner the weekend of jan 3/4. my parents wanted to go to tavern on the green, but i pointed out that it might be nice to let the people whose birthdays it will be choose the restaurant. my sister has stated that she would like:

any type of south american, spanish/french/italian, and american if it sounded untraditional

either brooklyn or manhattan (but if in manhattan, preferably not above 23rd st). entrees in the $12-$24 range (ie pasta should be around $14ish, but a steak could be $24ish). any suggestions? i would like to go someplace i have never been to before.

edited to add: in reading the comments i realize there is another requirement with my family. my dad is not a skinny man and not in the best of health, so no place too cramped or where you would have to wait for more than 15 minutes on a saturday night at 6 pm (but having to make a reservation is ok).

Dear Erica,
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to consider your book, but I'm sorry to say that I don't feel strongly enough about this project to offer representation. I like your writing style, but the story was too quiet for me. In this current, ridiculous, market I'm looking for more high concept novels.

Good luck in your search for an agent and publisher.

Best,
[mark's friend]

also, what is not annoying me

i wrote 12 pages tonight. i rule. now i get to watch tv.

jon just called me from toronto. the coworker he's sharing a hotel room with went on their trip even though he was sick and just found out he has strep throat. jon is freaking out.

i still can't get over how nice it is to have heat.

sickness update: went to bed at 1. fell asleep at 2ish. woke up an hour later for more orange juice and to see if we had any tylenol pm (we don't). went back to bed. slept an hour. woke up at 5 for more orange juice, took my temperature. 99.5. gave in and took regular target brand imitation tylenol. fell asleep at 6. woke up a little bit ago. temp back to 98.6, but i'm a little achey and my stomach feels weird.

i'm having a hard time allowing myself not to work out this morning. now that it is cold and i am not doing as much walking around i am even more crazed about getting in my three times a week. i have also made a pact with myself that any weekend day where i have no plans has to be a day of working out, unless i just worked out the night before. but i logically know that i should not work out right now. but the problem is not beating myself up for it.

i'm also just relieved that i feel ok enough to write today and go to the supermarket for more orange juice. jo n is in toronto for work otherwise i could obviously just send him. i still have 1.67 on my starbucks gift card so i'll prob go back there and get some apple cider, lest the gift card just languish in my wallet forever like the target gift card i have with $7 on it and the barnes & noble card i've had for a year and a half.

oh god, i feel like crap. at dinner i felt my throat start to get scratchy and then i got achy during the movie and now i'm pretty sure i'm going to wake up tomorrow with the flu. but i will say one thing:

twilight was amazing.

i have to read the books now.

1. i wrote ten pages today.
2. i went to starbucks because i had a gift card.
3. then i found $20 on the floor.
4. i watched the lookout, which i had had from netflix for two months and which was awesome.
5. in an hour i am leaving to meet allison and ann marie for dinner and twilight.

dear livejournal shopping genie,

i want a new winter coat. right now i have three.

1) an old non-down turquoise-colored puffy coat, knee-length, from h&m. it is warm but really worn (five years old) and was only $35 to begin with.
2) a navy blue knee-length wool coat with a peter pan collar that i bought a little over two years ago at the barney's outlet for $180 (i think). i like it and it's nice but the peter pan collar means that my neck is always cold and in general i find wool coats to be not that warm.
3) a dark green short puffy jacket with a fake fur trimmed hood that i bought last february for $9.99 from forever 21. i love this one the most and it is moderately warm, but really short (even though i bought it in a size large and i am not a tall person).

that is a lot of background to say that i want a warm (maybe down? definitely not wool) coat that is not black or blue and is under $200. where should i look for such a thing?

out now
quantum of solace (will see with jon and my dad on thanksgiving day)

november 21
twilight (allison and i have plans to see this out of curiosity and also liking of movies with teenagers)

november 26
australia (i was iffy but it got good reviews)
milk (interested in the topic plus i will see anything with james franco)

december 10
wendy and lucy (maybe, but not if i hear that something happens to the dog)

december 12
the class (preview looked good)
doubt (preview looked really good)
what doesn't kill you (mark ruffalo)

december 17
the wrestler (darren aronofsky lost me with the fountain, but I'm willing to give him another chance)

december 19
the brothers bloom (mark ruffalo, plus directed by the guy who did brick)
seven pounds (will smith?)
yes man (my secret love for jim carrey)

december 25
curious case of benjamin button (maybe, depending on reviews, since it's three hours long)
the other man (maybe)

december 26
revolutionary road

december 31
the lodger (based on hitchcock)

nothing as exciting to me as the friday the 13th reboot and the my bloody valentine remake (in 3D!!!!) in january and february.

http://www.wikihow.com/Turn-a-Girl-On

please note the photo of me illustrating this article that someone yanked from jon's flickr.